Comcast's Fast New Service Comes with a Catch

Good: Comcast just announced the ultrafast, ultra-broadband "Extreme 105" 105 Mbit/sec Internet service it's been promising.

Good: Introductory prices start at $105 per month, when bundled with other services; the price was supposed to be closer to $200 per month.

Bad: It put a data cap on the service of 250 Gbit per month -- about five hours worth of full-bandwidth use.

Extreme 105 sounds like a great deal at $105, but that price only counts if you get it as part of a Triple Play bundle with Comcast's phone and TV services. The $105 is also a promotional price that may go up later. There's no guarantee you'll be able to take full advantage of all that bandwidth, either. Comcast is among the most enthusiastic bandwidth-throttlers among the major ISPs. It is especially inimical toward streaming video from Netflix which, coincidentally, I'm sure, competes with Comcast's own paid on-demand video and TV services.

You'll have to buy a new cable modem, for somewhere in the neighborhood of $250 with installation.